Another study coming from Spain which decouples colony mortality from crop protection products and implicates off label mite controls as a source of hive contamination

In Europe, special attention has been paid to beekeepers,
and, based on environmental recommendations, fipronil and
other insecticides approved for use as seed treatments have
been included in Annex I of the recently amended Directive
91/414/EEC,54 with the aim of promoting studies to monitor the
true exposure of bees to fipronil and other insecticides in areas
where they are usually employed. This was the main goal of this
study, and it should help improve the use of these compounds
in the field, given only the low-level presence of this residue
in some cases. The present data are in agreement with studies
showing *no negative effects of seed-treated crops*. Some pesticide
residues were found here, in particular several varroacides and
insecticides, but no significant differences were observed between
the different sunflower crop samples and those from the sites
of wild vegetation. This fact not only implies environmental
contamination but also supports the theory that, most of the
time, inadequate treatments are the main source of residues that
might weaken bee colonies and make them more sensitive to
other factors. At this point, it should be noted that treatment of
beehives with chlorfenvinphos is not authorised, but it is often used
in *home-made formulas to control varroosis* in some European
countries. Indeed, this is one of the most common pesticide
residues in beebread in Spain. 

An exposure study to assess the potential impact of fipronil in treated sunflower seeds on honey bee colony losses in Spain
Pest Manag Sci 2011; 67: 1320–1331 www.soci.org 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

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